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“At every moment, we always have a choice, even if it feels as if we don’t. Sometimes that choice may simply be to think a more positive thought.”
― Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good
― Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good

“I have always seen great value in practicing kindness. Although I had no money to buy gifts as a child, I gave my friends the gift of song to cheer them up. Depending on the situation, I’d sing to them and make up melodies and lyrics on the spot about whatever was going on in their lives. If a girlfriend was lonely or heartbroken, I’d make up a song about the handsome and adoring boyfriend I imagined coming into her life. Or if a friend felt deprived or neglected, I’d make up a song about a gift of a shiny new doll, or a velvet party dress, that I knew would make her happy.”
― Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good
― Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good

“Don’t worry if you think you’re the only one facing challenges. If the people around you don’t seem to have problems, that just means you don’t know them well enough to see their troubles, or they’re very good at hiding them. Problems are inescapable for all living beings. As Nichiren said: “No one can avoid problems, not even sages.” Living a joyful life, I’ve found, is not about trying to avoid the unavoidable. Joy comes from summoning a strong life force to overcome problems, from the smallest irritation to the biggest disaster”
― Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good
― Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good

“If a negative thought arose, I’d repeat a positive one eight times in a row to counteract it. Soon, I began loving myself, imperfections and all. I stopped comparing myself to others (never compare yourself to others), and at last I started to look good to myself.”
― Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good
― Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good

“All along, I kept this encouragement from Daisaku Ikeda close to my heart: “One thing is certain: The power of belief, the power of thought, will move reality in the direction of what we believe and conceive of it. If you really believe you can do something, you can. That is a fact. When you clearly envision the outcome of victory, engrave it upon your heart, and are firmly convinced that you will attain it, your brain makes every effort to realize the mental image you have created. And then, through your unceasing efforts, that victory is finally made a reality.”
― Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good
― Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good
JJ’s 2024 Year in Books
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